" I love Vermont because of her hills and valleys, her scenery and invigorating climate, but most of all because of her indomitable people."

Calvin Coolidge
September 21, 1928

THE STRATTON STORY
(To view some historic photos of Stratton click on the link at the bottom of this page.)

The story of Stratton Mountain is the story of people, a handful of people who pursued their dream in spite of the odds. They had different incentives, different interests, different styles. What brought this group together was a shared vision for a complete year-round resort community, something altogether new in a world of drive-in ski areas.

Together they laid the groundwork for a complete resort community. It was the 1950s. "Skiing had arrived," explains Martha Sonnenfeld, a Vermonter who traces her roots to the 1800s. "It was very refreshing to me," she recalled in a conversation from her South Londonderry home.

"It became contagious for all of us - Vermonter and non-Vermonter alike - that this thing {Stratton Mountain} succeed. We were excited about the future and the fun and excitement it would bring....And, it would give us something to do on Sundays," said Sonnenfeld, who wrote The Stratton Story in 1981.

Today, Stratton Mountain Resort stands as a legacy to the dauntless spirit of its founding fathers and mothers.

Malvine Cole, considered the "Mother of Stratton," came to Vermont from Washington D.C., where she was a correspondent for a number of newspapers including The New York Times. Robert "Rainbow" Wright, a former ski racer who served with the Tenth Mountain Division alpine troops, would convince Cole and then Frank Snyder, that Stratton was the ideal site for a new ski area. Wright climbed to the peak, and explored the contours. It was perfect! Stratton Mountain was high - the highest in southern Vermont's famed snowbelt - and you could ski from the summit.

Soon there would be six supporters of a ski area on Stratton Mountain: Cole, Wright, novelist Pearl Buck and her business manager George Breen, Brattleboro Attorney A. Luke Crispe, and Grant Hubley. Each contributed $500.00 to a kitty and Wright went scouting for investors. Crispe brought in Herbert 'Tink' Smith, the "canny woodsman" destined to play a key role in The Stratton Story.

"Tink and his brother Nelson 'Dick' Smith were instrumental in getting the cooperation of Vermonters, they were Vermonters, they employed a lot of Vermonters and Vermonters trusted them," says Sonnenfeld.

Frank Snyder was a skier whose name would become synonymous with Stratton Mountain. He loved the sport of skiing, but had grown tired of driving all the way to Stowe for a weekend of skiing. "Why hadn't anyone built a ski area in southern Vermont," he wondered during one such trek. Snyder scanned the road map and one particular peak caught his eye: Stratton Mountain was extraordinary both in its elevation and location.

Monday morning arrived and Snyder's thoughts turned back to business. He wouldn't think about Stratton again until a few months later when a mutual friend put him in touch with Wright. They met in New York and Wright presented his case for creating a ski area on Stratton Mountain. Snyder was hooked on the idea, and agreed to put up $10,000 if Wright could find another 20 people to do the same. He also hired Wright to develop a prospectus, investigate land purchases and climb the mountain to devise a trail layout.

It was October 3rd, 1959, before Frank and his wife Jessie Snyder would first see Stratton. By the time Smith and Snyder met the plans were down on paper. Stratton Mountain would be a resort community - not just a day ski area -with lifts, lodges, chalets and a Village Square at the heart.

Tink Smith and Snyder met in late November. Smith the stout Vermonter with a ubiquitous cigar was an avid golfer. Snyder, the savvy New York businessman, was an ardent skier. From this meeting emerged the unique plan to join a major ski area with a golf course. Stratton had all the makings of a superb year round resort. But how would anyone get to it from Bondville? They would have to build an access road. With the support of the state and especially Windham County's Senator Edward Janeway, they introduced the idea right away to the legislature. They set December 14th 1959, as the date and the Colburn House in Manchester(now the Northshire Bookstore) as the place for dinner with the lawmakers.

Snyder then incorporated in New York, funding Stratton Corp. with $10,000 cash. The new corporation hosted the legislators dinner, where Tink Smith, Frank Snyder and Edward Janeway appeared together for the first time. These three men would guide the course of development for the Stratton Resort.

However, 1960 dawned with a stark realization: Stratton was a corporation with nothing to sell. To lure the investors they needed they decide to go it alone. They gained support from Governor Bob Stafford and called former Olympic skier Sal Hannah to advise on trail layout and base area design. Smith secured land for the resort by trading about 5 acres of prime forest for every acre at the base of Stratton Mountain, at that time owned by International Paper.

It was March 1960 and Snyder was still pounding the pavement in search of an underwriter. On one of his treks to Wall Street, Snyder ran into Vail promoters Jack Tweedy and Pete Seibert. Talk naturally turned to fund-raising. The Vail team had devised a limited partnership agreement that included free ski passes for life and options on building sites in the future village (Vail would open one year after Stratton). With Wilkie Bushby, a senior partner in a prominent New York law firm, Snyder drew up an agreement to incorporate in Vermont and sell stock at $5 a share in blocks of 1,000 shares. To sweeten the deal, they'd offer shareholders free ski passes and options on private land for chalets. They hoped to raise $250,000.

Stratton Corp. Secured bank financing in May from the National Commercial Bank in Albany, New York. They pledged a loan of one dollar for every dollar of equity raised.

Snyder traveled to Alpach, Austria where he found a model for Stratton's Base Lodge: a wooden building identified in faded paint as Jakober Haus, 1642. They hired noted architect Alexander "Sandy" McIlvaine to build it. Snyder wanted to built a 500 - seat base lodge but McIlvaine considered that way too big.

The board of Directors met in July, and by the flip of a coin, Smith was named president and Snyder chairman. By August, Stratton Corp. had 21 limited equity shareholders and $210,000 in cash. Crews had cleared a work road and a parking lot.

Smith, Janeway and Snyder stood atop a knoll where the base lodge stands today, looked clear to the summit and could almost see the ski trails running down Stratton Mountain. Former Olympian Gene Gillis of Sno - Engineering came in, to complete the trail network. Gillis laid out Stratton Mountain's original 10 trails, including North American, Tamarack and Suntanner, in his trademark style: wider at the bottom than at the top. Gillis also insisted on keeping the edge of trails scalloped rather than straight. Straight edges were unattractive, he had explained.

By year's end, there were 39 stockholders. Thirty - two had contributed $300,000, three had contributed a thousand acres of land and four had contributed services.

January 1961 brought five major snow storms, stalling work on the mountain. But it was a brief respite. With opening a mere 11 months down the road, the board turned it's attention to finding the right people to run resort operations, from the cafeteria to the ski school.

Gillis introduced the man who would become a legend at Stratton Mountain: Ski School Founder Emo Henrich. That winter, Henrich would create one of the country's first bona - fide ski schools for children, the Big Cub program. He would also fulfill his dream of bringing the music of Austria to the mountains of Vermont. Thus The Stratton Mountain Boys were formed.

Stratton's access road finally got the green light on July 19th after languishing in committee for months. But, Autumn arrived and Stratton Mountain still had no lifts. So they used a helicopter to airlift the towers into place. The Tramway Board inspected the two lower mountain lifts on December 20th, three days before the scheduled opening, December 23rd 1961.

And, the access road was open - barely. Bulldozers were still moving debris when the first cars arrived.

"Everything was done so quickly, we joked that one day they'd find someone's Volkswagen underneath that road," Sonnenfeld says.

A Christmas storm dumped 22 inches of new snow on southern Vermont's highest peak. The first upper mountain lift opened on December 29th. On that day more than 3,000 skiers braved the bumpy ride from Bondville to take advantage of the excellent conditions. Even though Stratton Mountain's opening day appearance had been rather unfinished, "the quality was right there from the beginning," Sonnenfeld reported. "What Stratton and its people accomplished was no small achievement."

By Myra Foster
(Excerpts from The Stratton Story written by Martha Sonnenfeld and Frank V. Snyder)

Interested in learning more about Emo Henrich and the birth of American Skiing?  Check out Legacy: Austria's Influence on American Skiing!